Rhydd's Diary: Day Ʊ

Life, Supernatural

Time passes...   Morning? I graze and trot around the estate, then graze again. It is Brother's turn to run free on the island "above," so I must remain here in case Master Nodens has need of me. Black on black is not only boring, but unappetizing too. The Master feeds me a black apple, and I pretend to enjoy it for his sake. Tomorrow will be my turn to run free, and I need only wait until then.   Top three words: Dull. Restless. Black.

Time passes...   Afternoon? Something happened! Something delightful. I had continued to graze, having worked up a good appetite making the run between Baharna and Tyrhhia so many times yesterday. Then, through the black-on-black grass, I felt a murmur. The Night-gaunts dropped someone off. Master Nodens usually doesn't like us interacting with guests, but he was out pacifying the depths. Feeling just a little rebellious, I trotted over and watched as a masked woman and a red woman walked through the manor.   The first one had been here before. You can always tell, because they don't act like they're about to fall into the endless darkness. She knew her way to the throne room too. The red one just followed along, looking like she'd eaten some bad fungus, perhaps. I could feel the Master returning from the depths, but there was still time... I clopped right on over and passed through the wall. (Walls only stop you if you let them, but that's a secret.) She didn't notice me until I had already gotten a good sniff or two in. The masked woman smelled like the ocean, and grass, and the wide blue sky. The other woman only smelled yellow; I stayed away from that one.   I know it's only been one day since I was outside, but the longing for that open expanse on Oriab was too much for me. I opened wide and gave her a big old lick. Well, I tried to. There was some magic in the way, and my tongue got stuck to it. The spell tasted of bones, so I pretended to be stuck for a few seconds to savor the taste. Delicious!   That was a mistake, however, as Master Nodens showed up just after. He'd run pretty fast to get here, even for him, so I politely didn't mention that he looked out of breath.   "Stand down, Rhydd," he told me. I know I wasn't meant to be there, greeting his guests, so it was very gracious of him. I took another big sniff and cantered away, back through the wall. But...and this is just between you and me, diary...I stayed there to listen. After all, walls only stop you from hearing inside if you let them. That's a secret too.   "One of two who pull my grand chariot," Master Nodens was saying. They are faithful, but not...as dignified as I would like." I had to snuff and stamp my hoof at that. Brother and I are far more dignified than any mortal horse. Even the smartest of them can only think in one word at a time; not these eloquent sentences which I dictate to you now, diary.   "Well, Rhydd does have a unique charm." The woman's voice, muffled though it was by her mask, made my big old heart leap in my big old chest. I trotted around in place a few times to restrain myself from pushing through the wall again to give her another lick in thanks for the praise.   Unfortunately, they didn't talk about me much more after that. The masked woman wanted Master Nodens to look at the red woman. Something was wrong with her. I had a feeling the yellow smell would be a lot stronger if she wasn't here. "His voice is lesser here," like she said.   The Master agreed, of course. I bucked a little on instinct as his sword thudded into his hand and he put it right under the red woman's chin. Would he cut open her neck? If he did, would red blood flow out, or yellow?   "Would that be a good idea?" the masked woman asked. "She seems to be under the curse of a powerful being." Uh, yeah. Even a horse could have told you that.   "Why have you brought such a thing to me?" Master Nodens asked with his usual cool calmness. "This is a dangerous weapon. Had I slain her here as I intended..."   Fortunately, the Master doesn't slay anything he doesn't set out to. Most of the time.   "For guidance." She's clomping up the wrong tree for sure. "I have felt the power of the entity that whispers in her head. A terrifying being beyond understanding, but thankfully Lady Omoikane's cure and the Black Blade's quick-wittedness have kept it from entering this realm." She paused for the length of a short trot. "I was hoping you would know of a way to prevent that from happening again."   "The quickest way would be death." I wouldn't dare contradict the Master, but the quickest way would definitely be me. I could take her down into the depths and they'd never have to deal with her again! Of course, Master Nodens' mind was elswhere. "Yet to kill her now would be to release all of the energy, the potential which has been forced inside this single body."   I thought I heard someone shout "Ow!" there, but nobody else was making murmurs in the grass, so it must have been the soft sound of me hopping from hoof to hoof as I listened.   "I would advise you to take her to the very depths of Lost Kadath and slay her there. Obliterate as many foul beasts as you can with her death."   "Hmm." Who was this woman who'd just "hmm" after Master Nodens graced her with some incredible advice like that? It makes no bucking sense. Compels me, though. I'll need to keep an eye on her.   "If you are truly determined to save this soul," the Master said with more hesitation than I'd ever seen from him, "There may be another way." The masked woman was keenly interested in that, so he continued. "This one is...not precisely dreaming. Such a thing is not possible when already in the Dreamlands. However, the condition she suffers is not unlike an unending nightmare. There is a magic which allows its caster to 'walk' in nightmares.   "Do you understand?   "Walk into her nightmare and face the very cause of her suffering?" Even I had stopped cantering around by now and turned one of my ears, telescopic-like, to hear the rest. This was getting interesting.   "Crush it," Master Nodens made a crushing motion with his fist. I'd seen many monstrous skulls shattered in that same way. "Excise it. Drive it out and her torment may be eased. The presence within her is likely but a shadow of its true being, but it will be dangerous nonetheless."   "Hmm." There she goes again, hmm-ing at Master Nodens. "But would her nightmares not spawn into the Dreamlands and cause chaos here? More than the usual... If she were to be put into a dream state, I mean."   "It is possible. Especially here, in the Dreamlands, the terrain around her may shift to match her inner world." The masked woman seemed to think for a while. I realized something then. Master Nodens must really like her. This is more patience than he's ever shown a mortal, that I know of. Maybe she's not mortal at all. The red woman sure as clop isn't.   "I will ponder on my options," she said finally, and my ear flicked at the disrespect, "But should I attempt to save her and fail, would it be possible for you to bring her to Lost Kadath and end her suffering there?"   "If you give me into my care, I will do so." I had to almost rear back at that one. Kadath is all the way on the northern rim of the Dreamlands. Getting there would mean a long, fast, exhilarating run for Brother and I.   "Then may I ask you to watch over her for the time being? At the very least, I must ensure that I take back my daughter's soul from Yomi before I attempt this suicidal quest."   Uh-oh.   "I refuse," Master Nodens said, and I could hear the cold edge in his voice even toward this woman he liked so much. "I will kill her at Kadath, or you will take her from here. This being will not remain within my halls."   She seemed to have figured out she'd worn her welcome thin too. "I understand. Then, I will thank you for your counsel today. Come, Carmilla, we return."   The two turned on their feet and made for the waiting night-gaunts. I had to make myself scarce too, in case Nodens decided to look through the walls and saw me listening. It was a fascinating thing to see, though. The most exciting thing that's happened in the Abyss for a long time. My most fervent hope is that I see her again before she goes on that suicidal quest she's planning.   Top three words: Patience. Wonder. Yellow.